Eddie Wineland plans to change next to nothing if he wins UFC title

For most fighters, holding down a full-time job while trying to train and compete at the UFC level is something done out of necessity.

There are bills that have to get paid and training expenses. And if you’re not at the top of the pay scale, making a living as a full-time fighter who only trains and fights can be tough to pull off.

Once fighters reach that championship level, though, most quit working and make fighting their full-time job.

Eddie Wineland (20-8-1 MMA, 2-2 UFC) gets a shot at UFC gold next month when he challenges Renan Barao (30-1 MMA, 5-0 UFC) for Barao’s interim bantamweight title in the main event of UFC 161, which takes place June 15 at MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

But even if Wineland takes Barao’s interim title to set up a likely showdown with currently sidelined champ Dominick Cruz, quitting his job as a full-time firefighter in Northwest Indiana is something he would not consider.

Why? Well, for one, his schedule at the firehouse allows him to structure his training in a way that best works for him. When he’s on duty, he’s able to work out. And when he’s not, he gets in his fight-specific training in Chicago and Northwest Indiana.

“Every five days, we get four straight days off,” Wineland told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “I work for 24 hours, and I have weight equipment and treadmills to get my workouts in. It’s not body-on-body, boxing and wrestling, but I’m doing my cardio work and doing what I need to do, and I think working there has tied in well with where I’m at.”

Where he’s at is a big-time resurgence in the bantamweight division after a rough start to his UFC career. Wineland has history with the 135-pound title. He was the WEC’s first bantamweight champion, and that title eventually became the UFC’s.

He closed out his WEC career with four straight wins and back-to-back “Knockout of the Night” bonuses. But when he got to the UFC after the merger, he dropped a tough unanimous decision to Urijah Faber in a title eliminator. And after that, he was swept on the scorecards by Faber teammate Joseph Benavidez.

But he rebounded nine months later in a major way when he became the first fighter to knock out Scott Jorgensen, winning a $40,000 “Fight of the Night” bonus in the process. And he followed that with a split-decision win over Brad Pickett at UFC 155 this past December.

Wins over Top 10 bantamweights like Jorgensen and Pickett, and quality losses to Faber and Benavidez, earned Wineland a shot at Barao – something he thought was possible.

“Whether it was going to happen or not, I wasn’t sure. All I could do was hope,” Wineland said. “It’s unfortunate for Dominick that he’s not going to be back, but because he’s not going to be back in time, I get my shot. Do I think I’m the right person for that shot? Absolutely. My last four fights have been top five guys. And that’s how I like to fight. I don’t want to fight the new guy coming in. I don’t want to fight the guy who’s got two fights in the UFC. I want to fight the guy who’s got all the fights and the big name and who’s the best in the world.

“That’s why I’m here. I want to prove that I’m the best in the world. In my mind, if I come on my ‘A’ game, nobody’s beating me. In my mind, I’m No. 1 – and that’s what I’m here to show.”

If he gets the interim title, just the same as he’ll be a UFC champion who goes off to a firefighting job, he also doesn’t plan to change much else, either.

If it ain’t broke …

“Some of these guys love the attention,” he said. “The attention doesn’t bother me. I really don’t mind it. But I’ve got three dogs at home, I’ve got a giant fish tank, I’ve got stuff at the house that needs to be taken care of, my family lives right down the road. I surround myself with good people, and the good people here at home is where I like to be. I’d rather surround myself with home than being out in the lights and neon and all the fame. I’d rather be in my comfort zone and doing my thing.”

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